3. Ulmus crassifolia Nutt. (cedar elm)

Pl. 570 a, b; Map 2665

Plants trees to 15(–30) m tall. Twigs purplish brown, hairy; usually at least some of them with 1 or 2 opposite, irregular, corky wings. Winter buds 1.5–2.5 mm long, ovoid, bluntly pointed, dark red, minutely hairy. Petioles 2–3 mm long. Leaf blades (1.6–)3.2–6.0 cm long, (0.9–)1.6–3.0 cm wide, oblong or narrowly elliptic, the base weakly to moderately asymmetric, angled to a broadly or bluntly pointed tip, the major marginal teeth 0.7–1.2 mm deep, blunt, most with 1 or 2 smaller secondary teeth, the upper surface roughened, the undersurface short-hairy, at least along the main veins, not tufted in the vein axils, the secondary veins 8–12 on each side of the midvein, many leaves with 2 or more lateral veins on each side forked toward their tips; juvenile leaves never lobed. Inflorescences short umbellate clusters appearing in the fall in the leaf axils from the older parts of the current-year’s growth. Flowers with the stalks 7–10 mm long, the calyces deeply 6–9-lobed, the tube pubescent with crisped white hairs, the lobes linear, glabrous except for red hairs along the margins near their tips or sometimes also with scattered hairs on the outer surface. Fruits 0.9–1.1 cm long, 0.5–0.7 cm wide, elliptic, tan, the body and wings finely hairy, the wing margins also densely hairy. 2n = 28. September.

Uncommon, known thus far only from Butler County (Florida to Texas north to Tennessee, Missouri, and Oklahoma; Mexico). Bottomland forests; also levees and roadsides.

This species was first reported for Missouri from Dunklin County by Heineke (1987), but his voucher specimen could not be located during the present work.